"It can be very difficult to predict collapse because there is very little surface evidence of the features," says Dr Vanessa Banks, an expert in shallow geohazards and risk at the British Geological Survey.

A new fund to ensure safety and sustainability are at the forefront of any drilling for shale gas and oil in the UK has been announced today by UK minister for business, enterprise & energy, Matthew Hancock.

Two University of Bristol academics are part of a UK consortium, led by the British Geological Survey (BGS), which will carry out research at two proposed hydraulic fracturing (‘fracking’) sites in Lancashire.